The Concept of Physical Law
Cambridge University Press (1985)
| Abstract | The Concept of Physical Law is an original and creative defense of the Regularity theory of physical law, the concept that physical laws are nothing more than descriptions of whatever universal truths happen to be instanced in nature. Professor Swartz clearly identifies and analyzes the arguments and intuitions of the opposing Necessitarian theory, and argues that the standard objection to the Regularity theory turns on a mistaken view of what Regularists mean by 'physical impossibility'; that it is impossible to construct an empirical test that can distinguish between events Necessitarians call 'mere accidents' and those they call 'nornologically necessary', and that the Necessitarian theory cannot account fot human beings' free wills. Other topics in this important work include: the distinction between instrumental scientific laws and true physical laws; the distinction between failure and doom; potentialities; miracles and marvels; predictability and uniformity; statistical and numerical laws; and necessity-in-praxis. | |||||||||
| Keywords | Science Philosophy | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Buy the book | $404.26 new Amazon page | |||||||||
| Call number | Q175.S974 1985 | |||||||||
| ISBN(s) | 0521258383 | |||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,672 |
| External links | This entry has no external links. Add one. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesMarc Lange (1999). Laws, Counterfactuals, Stability, and Degrees of Lawhood. Philosophy of Science 66 (2):243-267.
Alexander Bird (2002). Laws and Criteria. Canadian Journal of Philosophy 32 (4):511-42.
Fred Wilson (1987). Book Review:The Concept of Physical Law Norman Swartz. [REVIEW] Philosophy of Science 54 (1):130-.
John Forge (1980). The Structure of Physical Explanation. Philosophy of Science 47 (2):203-226.
Marc Lange (1993). Natural Laws and the Problem of Provisos. Erkenntnis 38 (2):233Ð248.
Jens Harbecke (2011). Mind in a Humean World. Metaphysica 12 (2):213-229.
Andreas Hüttemann (1998). Laws and Dispositions. Philosophy of Science 65 (1):121-135.
Norman Swartz, Laws of Nature. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
John T. Roberts (2005). Measurability and Physical Laws. Synthese 144 (3):433Ð447.
Michael Baumgartner (2008). Regularity Theories Reassessed. Philosophia 36 (3):327-354.
Analytics
Monthly downloads
Sorry, there are not enough data points to plot this chart.
|
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads0Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
